"At heart, I'm an educator - and I kind of hope we can work with those young people and channel that passion and energy toward positive solutions because the status quo is not OK," said Anderson.

Nearly two-thirds of the students in the district area are not college ready, according to Anderson.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, one of Anderson's toughest critics, says it is not personal. In a press release, he described the school district as being out of money and a district that has "devolved into chaos."

In the end, Anderson says she can handle the criticism.

"I think about a kid who walks in to Weequahic High School the day after their best friend was shot...I think I can handle a bad news day, because that kid? We're asking that kid to get back up, to go to school and get on a pathway to excellence. That's what drives me," she says.